BANGLADESH: Factory inspections "aggressive, but do-able"

Initial factory inspection reports completed on facilities used by members of the Accord on Fire and Building Safety in Bangladesh have for the first time shed light on the scale and type of problems being encountered.

Results of the first ten factory inspection reports were published today (11 March) on the Accord website, and can be seen in more detail by clicking here.

While they do not highlight any defects of a similar magnitude to those that caused the collapse of the Rana Plaza building in April 2013, they do identify a number of issues to tackle.

These include the need to reduce weight loads in certain areas of the factory through moving material, stock, or supplies; the requirement for better support for and enclosure of electrical cables; and the need to improve maintenance procedures around items such as electrical circuits, for example keeping them free of dust.

Speaking on a media briefing yesterday (10 March), Brad Loewen, chief safety inspector for the Accord, said the timeline for inspecting 1,500 factories used by more than 150 mainly European retailers and brands, is "aggressive, but do-able."

So far, 80 inspections have been completed - and by the end of March this will have risen to 250. From then until September, 38 teams of fire, electrical and structural engineers will conduct 250 inspections a month.

But he said that while the targeted deadline is to have this phase completed by the end of August, "we are setting the end of September in our discussion points."